The Goodman Gallery was pleased to present an exhibition of collage, painting and installation by Sam Nhlengethwa. One of the foremost collagists and painters in the country, Sam’s show, Jozi People, comprised entirely of new works.
Sam had this to say about the show: Jozi People is a culmination of an idea that was conceptualized a long time ago through my everyday interaction with a variety of people. Jozi is a great cultural metropolis. I have seen it evolve through many stages making its people more interesting as they also get engulfed in this evolution.
I‘m at a loss of words as to how much Jozi has inspired me through its architect, people, the general vibe and of course the lingo. With its varied and pacy lifestyles, Jozi can either make you or break you.
Jozi has influenced me so much that sometimes when I visit other big cities like New York and watching people go through their daily routines, I long to say to the next person I see “Heyta my Bra. Hoezit?!” (Hi, my brother. How are you?).
I love Jozi with a passion. Through Jozi People I have at last achieved my long time wish to deal with Jozi and its people on canvas. I had fun.”
The show opened on the 14th of October and closed on Saturday 3rd November 2001.
Artworks
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Artist Bio
Sam Nhlengethwa (b. 1955, Payneville, Springs) part of a pioneering generation of late 20th century South African artists whose work reflects the sociopolitical history and everyday life of their country. Through his paintings, collages and prints Nhlengethwa has depicted the evolution of Johannesburg through street life, interiors, jazz musicians and fashion.
Nhlengethwa was born in the Black township community of Payneville near Springs (a satellite mining town east of Johannesburg), in 1955 and grew up in Ratanda location in nearby Heidelberg. In the 1980s, he moved to Johannesburg where he honed his practice at the renowned Johannesburg Art Foundation under its founder Bill Ainslie. Nhlengethwa is one of the founders of the legendary Bag Factory, in Newtown, in the heart of the Johannesburg CBD, where he used to share studio space with fellow greats of this pioneering generation of South African artists, such as David Koloane and Pat Mautloa.
In 2014, a major survey exhibition, titled 'Life, Jazz and Lots of Other Things,' was hosted by SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia, which was then co-hosted in Atlanta by SCAD and the Carter Center.
Nhlengethwa’s practice features in important arts publications, such as Phaidon’s The 20th Century Art Book (2001).
Other notable exhibitions and accolades in South Africa and around the world include: in 1994 – the year South Africa held its first democratic elections – Nhlengethwa was awarded the prestigious Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year award; in 1995, his work was included in the Whitechapel Gallery’s 'Seven Stories About Modern Art in Africa' in London; in 2000, he participated in a two-man show at Seippel Art Gallery in Cologne.
Group exhibitions include: 'Constructions: Contemporary Art from South Africa,' Museu de Arte Contemporanea de Niteroi, Brazil (2011); 'Beyond Borders: Global Africa,' University of Michigan Museum of Art, Michigan (2018).
Biennales include: 6th Beijing Biennale in (2015); 55th Venice Biennale, as part of the South African Pavilion, titled Imaginary Fact: Contemporary South African Art and the Archive (2013); 12th International Cairo Biennale (2010); 8th Havana Biennale (2003); Southern African Stories: A Print Collection, CCA (Caribbean Contemporary Arts), Trinidad (2002).
Collections include: Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG), Durban Art Gallery (DAG), Iziko South African National Art Gallery (ISANG), Standard Bank’s Head Office, Absa, Botswana Art Museum, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, amongst many in South Africa and abroad.
Nhlengethwa lives and works in Johannesburg, South Africa.
